Understanding Bycatch with Kate McClellan – Part 1 of 5

Bycatch has become a global problem and is the major cause of the decrease in fish populations over the past few decades. When using fishing gear to catch a target fish, other fish can easily get trapped too. It’s not just other fish that get trapped, but marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds as well as endangered species. So who is looking to reduce and eliminate bycatch around the world? Well, there are many people and organizations.

The Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction is one such organization made up of a number of scientific and industry representatives in the Northeastern United States. I spoke with Kate McClellan, Assistant Scientist at the CWBR, about bycatch; how Kate ended up working with the CWBR; why bycatch is such a problem; and, the efforts made to reduce and eliminate it.

Check out Part 1 of 5 of the interview. I guarantee you will learn a lot!